User Privacy Policy

This user information privacy policy describes how the Web sites maintained by The Press Democrat -- including pressdemocrat.com - -- collect and utilize users' personally identifiable information. It is our policy that a user controls:

1. What personal identifiable information is collected.

2. What The Press Democrat's sites can do with that information.

The Press Democrat will not disclose a user's personally identifiable information to any third party without the user's express permission except where users sign up for certain services which will be subject to the opt-out provisions set forth below.

Information Not Collected: A user can access our Web sites and utilize many of our services without providing any information at all. Nor do we follow a user's browsing path outside of our Web sites.

We do develop summary - not individual - reports for our advertisers. The people that make it possible for visitors to use pressdemocrat.com for free - our advertisers - need this information to determine how effective their advertising investments are. We never tell our advertisers the identity of a user who saw or clicked on their advertisements unless the user has expressly given permission to do so.

In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), pressdemocrat.com does not collect or store any personal information, even in aggregate, about children under the age of 13. In the event that we learn that we have collected any personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete that information from our database as quickly as is practical.

Usage Tracking: Pressdemocrat.com does track usage patterns on our sites and breaks down overall usage statistics according to a user's domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user's browser). However, we do not match this information with users' personally identifiable information.

Data Security: To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online.

Affiliated and Linked SitesPressdemocrat.com expects its partners, advertisers, and affiliates to respect the privacy of our users. Be aware, however, that our promotional partners, advertisers, sponsors, third-party Internet sites, and content providers accessible through our site may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. Pressdemocrat.com is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties. Users should check the applicable privacy policies of those third parties when providing personally identifiable information through co-branded, affiliated or linked sites.

While on our site, you may occasionally receive cookies from our advertisers or promotional partners. The placement of cookies by third-party servers is common on the Internet. Pressdemocrat.com does not control the use of these cookies or have access to the resulting information. (See the section on Cookies below for more details.)

Finally, you should be aware that if you voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information on message boards or in chat areas of pressdemocrat.com, that information can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited messages from other individuals or third parties.

We occasionally gather individually identifiable information that you provide to us on a voluntary basis in connection with activities other than accessing our sites. This information is used only within the limits specified in this policy.

Optional sign ups We occasionally gather individually identifiable information that you provide to us on a voluntary basis in connection with activities other than accessing our sites. This information is used only within the limits specified in this policy.

The information collected when a user signs up for a service can include an e-mail address (which also functions as an account ID in some instances) name and other requested data. Any commercial transaction information is encrypted and retained in a database, independently of other Web site information. When signing up for a service, a user may also "opt out" of various e-mail notifications or offers (see Opt Out Procedures below.)

Services that require some form of sign up currently include:

# "Email a friend" service: A user can electronically forward a news story to someone else by clicking the link on the side of the story. The user must provide a valid e-mail address for both the sender and the recipient in order to ensure that the service functions properly and to inform the recipient who sent the story. There is also an option to include a name which is only used for the e-mail salutation. None of this information is used for any other purpose.

# Email newsletters: Pressdemocrat.com offers email newsletter services that require subscribers to supply, at a minimum, their name and email address. In some cases, the user must answer mandatory survey questions about a range of other personal data. The information gathered is used for internal analysis. Pressdemocrat.com will not divulge any individual information, but may share aggregated statistics.

# Pressdemocrat.com forums: Pressdemocrat.com offers an online forum for posting opinions about current events and other topics. You may view the forums without signing up, but to post you must supply, at a minimum, your full name and email address, and create a username or "handle" that will be associated with your forum posts. Information collected in the forums is used for internal analysis, and may be shared, but only in the aggregate.

# TalkBack reader panel: Our TalkBack reader panel enables participants to share their views on topical issues upon request from the Press Democrat newsroom. Participants receive occasional email requesting your input, and may on rare occasions be telephoned. Signup information will be used by our newsroom editors solely for selecting participants when sending out calls for participation; responses you provide in answer to requests for comments may be published in the newspaper and online along with your name and photo. Reader panel information may otherwise be shared, but only in the aggregate, with other departments at The Press Democrat. Information specific to the reader panel (such as political affiliation and race) will not be shared with partners or advertisers.

# Online Placement of Classified Advertisements: is done on a secure server and all information is encrypted. Your information will be used for billing purposes only.

# Surveys: Occasionally pressdemocrat.com conducts user surveys to better understand our user community. We sometimes share the aggregated demographic information in these surveys with our advertisers and partners. When we conduct surveys, we may ask for personally identifiable information such as name and specific address.

# Contests and sweepstakes: Pressdemocrat.com offers contests and sweepstakes in which we request certain personal information. At a minimum, the required information includes name and e-mail address; in some cases, the user must answer mandatory survey questions about a range of other personal data. The information gathered in the entry form may be used to verify the entrant's identity and to contact winners and/or prize recipients. pressdemocrat.com will divulge this information to:

# a contest sponsor, if a user expressly asks to receive additional information from the contest sponsor.

# the contest administrator, if not pressdemocrat.com, and if the user expressly consents.

# Because the rules and terms of each contest can vary, all information about each contest is clearly posted during the event.

Cookies:

A cookie is a small data file that a Web site transfers to a user's hard drive when a user visits the Web site. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages visited. The only personal information a cookie can contain is that which a user supplies. A cookie can't read data off a hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. pressdemocrat.com does not use cookies to store passwords or any other personal information about a user.

Opt Out Procedures For E-mail: If a user chooses to sign up for a pressdemocrat.com service, the user can choose not to receive communications from:

* Third parties who offer a product or service that we think would be of value to the user.

Policy Changes: The foregoing policy is effective as of August 11, 2005. Technology on the internet is developing at a rapid pace and we need to maintain our flexibility in the online arena. If we need to change our policy in the future, we will post these changes as soon as they go into effect. Please check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of the sites following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept these changes. This statement and the policies outlined herein are not intended to and do not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party.